A Spark of Innocence
by frizzle1872
Summary: Even Sophia knows...


**A\N Okay, so this is my new favorite TV show! I love it so much and I knew I HAD to write for it! Please review and tell me what you think! :D **

Sophia Peletier had one image running through her mind while running through the woods.

Her mother.

Carol had always been there for her. She was the best mom a girl could ask for—loving, caring, sweet, kind and over-all understanding. So that was why Sophia was confused on why _his _face flashed before her eyes on her last moments.

The sun was creeping down as the moon slowly began to sliver its way to the sky when Sophia was running aimlessly around looking for that one woman. A pitiful, "Mom," escaped her dry, cracked lips which were sore and tired from screaming and crying all day. Then, she heard it.

Crackling.

She whipped around, half expecting to her mom, half expecting to see Rick, but she didn't expect a walker.

Or maybe she did.

She didn't know. At that moment, she was paralyzed with fear, her feet not letting her run, turn away—_anything_. Her breath hitched as it inched closer to her, its ragged breathing and stumbling terrifying her even more. As she felt tears gather in her eyes, all she could think about was one person. Scruffy blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, a cold demeanor, and a short temper.

Daryl.

She was pretty familiar with everyone in the group, Rick, Lori, Shane, Andrea—everyone, except Daryl. She knew him, but she didn't actually _know _him. He was alone, his brother was missing, and yet she saw how kind he was to everyone even if he didn't like them.

As the walker stumbled closer to her, the hunger showing clear on its face, her thoughts flickered to one of the many conversations she had with her mother.

"I want a kind man who will take care of me and you, of course," She chuckled, sincerity flickering in her eyes. Sophia, just a twelve year old, cocked her head in utter confusion.

"What about daddy, isn't he good enough?"She questioned, feeling a bit hurt for her father. Carol looked at her daughter with a look Sophia didn't understand until the world ended.

"Daddy's a man of…action you could say…but not of love and compassion….that's what I want," Carol smiled heartily, for the first time in many months. Sophia studied her mother carefully. She sat up from her chair and progressively made her was over to her mother, careful not to make much noise, for it was her father's 'nap-time' and he hated to be disturbed.

"Momma, do you love daddy?" Carol took a second and looked away as if she couldn't bear to look at the broken-hearted twelve year old.

"I did," Carol answered finally, with a light smile, "But times have changed and so has your daddy…and now, I don't know if I could ever love that man again,"

"Are you gonna divorce him?" Sophia whimpered, as tears made their way to her eyes. They slowly fell down her cheeks in mix-matched patterns, etching her cheek bones perfectly. Carol smiled again, with tears of her own on her cheeks.

"No sweetie. Momma could _never_ do that, but think a nice break would do the trick," She declared with a slight chuckle.

"Like a broken leg?" Sophia asked as her mother gave her an utterly confused expression.

"A broken leg?"

"Yeah, your leg hurts for a while, but when you take a break and you don't bother it or use it, it gets better. That's the same for you and daddy, right?"

"Right…um, let's keep this to ourselves, okay?"

"Carol!" An angry voice barked. Carol's serene expression turned terrified and hurt. Sophia knew that look all too well, but said nothing.

"Okay, Sophia?" Sophia eyed her mother with a bit of resentment, but nodded diligently.

"Okay, Momma," With that, Sophia was snapped back into reality. The smell of rotten flesh and organs smothered her as the walker approached, getting closer and closer.

And then it happened.

It was the stupid cliché moment of when her life flashed before her eyes…but this time it wasn't cliché.

Instead of her life, it was Carol's.

Her mother's smiling face lit up the rest of the world as Sophia felt the spine-tingling sensation of the walker's ragged breathing on her neck. A flower was placed before Carol with a rough hand guiding it, a hot meal was placed in her soft, fragile hands as she gave it to an injured body, and strong arms held her back as an unfamiliar barn was being flashed before the little girl's eyes.

The hand, the body, the arms, all belonged to one redneck—Daryl.

As Sophia heard the walker take one final breath before it bit her, she did something.

"Thank you, Daryl. Please, take care of my momma. She's always wanted a good man, well here you are. Please, when she cries over me, hold her. When she's sad or wants to die too, protect her and tell her to keep going. And please, please, if she's scared, tell her you're there for her. I was dumb not to see daddy wasn't nice for so long….so if you can, please give my momma the love she deserves,"

As the last word disappeared into the darkness, Sophia let out one choked cry before she felt the teeth dig into her neck. She felt so much pain shoot through her body, but she held her lips in a thin line as she began to feel light headed. After all, her mother was able to do it all those years from her daddy.

And just as Sophia knew the strong connection Daryl and her mother held, she also knew about the abuse.

After all, Sophia Peletier wasn't stupid.


End file.
